Today We Gives Thanks

As I sit here to write this blog post my heart is full.  It feels in fact like it is overflowing.  My life is incredibly blessed.  And I am learning to love every bit of it.  Even the part of me that insisted I add the word learning.  Because I struggle with loving every part of myself.  The ragey, bitchy, judgmental, money fearing part of me....isn't all that cuddly.  But I am learning.  And for that...I am totally grateful.  What a journey! Wow!  I just need a moment to breathe it all in.

As I start to count what it is that I am grateful for...I immediately think that there is not enough space in a single blog post to count the sheer number of things I am grateful for.

So here is the short list.  I am grateful that I am married to my best friend.  Who loves me...all of me...even the rage, bitchy, judgmental, money fearing parts of me.  Who shows me that I am loveable.  Who believes in me.  Holds me. Likes me.  And some days tolerates me when it would be much easier to get in the car and keep driving...far, far away. 

I am grateful for my Beautiful Daughter who teaches me more than I could ever imagine.  She brightens my day.  She teaches me how to love.  How to share.  She teaches me patience (or tries to).  She shows me there is more to life than just work.

I am grateful for my family.  My Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Niece and Nephews.  I value all of our time together.  How each moment together is filled with ease.  It may not always be easy but it is so comforting to know that we will always be family.  We will stick together regardless of the size of storm we must weather.

I am grateful for my newest family.  My In Laws.  These people love me and accept all of my quirks.  And it is only a marriage license that legally bonds us together.  There is comfort in knowing that they choose to be family.  That they opened their arms, home and hearts to me and that they welcomed me in and never looked back.

I am grateful for my extended family.  There is comfort in numbers.  Comfort in knowing we are all here to work and grow together.  That we may not see each other often but we know...we are all here together no matter what.

I am grateful for my friends.  All of you.  You have entered my life for a reason and I love for that.  Each time that we talk, each memory we make, each challenge we face...I am grateful.  I love you all. 

I am grateful that I am able to do what I love each and every day.  That I work with people who help to grow me each day.  And I know that they think that I am helping them but truly...they teach me more than I teach them.

And of course I am grateful for all of the blessings that comfort my life.  The roof over my head, the food in the fridge, freezer and pantry, the cars in the driveway, the dogs snoring by the bed and the cat and her "presents" that grace the basement. 

I am grateful for all of you that are reading this.  I am grateful for the freedom to write a blog that spouts whatever opinion I choose to type at every given moment.  I am grateful for the air that I breathe.  I am grateful for the opportunity to make an impact in my life and the lives of others every single day.  I am grateful for the moments of discomfort, challenge and even the ones of heart break and dismay because each moment shapes my life.  And I wouldn't want it any other way.

What are you most grateful for?

I wish you a day as beautiful as you! 

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Lisa

When Faced With Change

Our journeys are all very similar.  Even if we are not moving in the same direction.  Yesterday my Dad and I went to their North place to work with some horses.  As my Dad brought them in to the pen it was great to watch.

You could see that they were uncertain as to what was going on and whether or not they really wanted to be there. As we let them settle for a minute a couple of them felt that they were comfortable enough to graze.  Some were checking out the entire pen - determining where the boundaries were.  And three were taking great care to keep their heads up, eyes open and watching to be certain that we were not going to cause them harm.  These three would run from us when we entered their space.  One even went to the extreme of jumping over a fence to avoid us.

I don't know about you...But I can tell you that I am very much like each of these horses in different situations.  When I am faced with change and it is something that I knew was coming and it was something I wanted...I was happy to relax into the change.  Take on an attitude like...I am here now...might as well get comfortable.  When the change is a bit of a surprise and I am not sure exactly what it means to me but it seems like an adventure...I am like the horses who scouted out the pen.  I want to see what it all looks like.  I want to know what my boundaries are.  And when there is a change that wasn't my idea.  That I wasn't prepared for. That I didn't see the value in making...I am very much like the latter three horses.  I keep my head up.  I run from the change.  I protect myself at all costs.  I act from a place of fear.  Rather than a place of faith that it will all work out.  

How is it that you view change?  Do you approach it from a place of Fear or Faith?  Do you find that it differs depending on the extent of change you are facing?

Today I am grateful that I am celebrating Thanksgiving with my Parents, Husband and Daughter.  That we are healthy and able to enjoy these days with one another.

I wish you a day as Beautiful as You!

Much Love,
Lisa

I don't feel like blogging...

No Sir! No Blogging Today!  (I hope you read that to the tune of "I don't feel like dancing" Scissor Sisters.

Blogging seems to be a huge challenge.  I have a ton of blog posts that are partially composed.  All of them brilliant of course.  However, I really don't feel like finishing them.  Do you ever get that way?  Where you just would rather...not?  

I must be in a self sabotaging mode.  I have been eating rather clean. Nothing processed, no white flour, limited high quality meats, no dairy, sugar only in the form of red wine...but that is clean because it is made from grapes.  And we all know that grapes are a fruit.  May I take this moment to remind you that the Canadian Food Guide recommends 7-8 servings of fruit per day.  So...I am just trying to follow the rules.

All kidding aside I had been eating clean.  And in the last two days...I have veered of track dramatically.  I have had a cheese burger, french fries, mashed potatoes and gravy, meatballs, fresh baked homemade buns,  potato chips and a healthy slice of cherry pie.  The word healthy referring to the serving size rather than the nutritional value.  And I am not going to lie...the meatballs, gravy, potatoes, buns, and pie...were absolutely delicious.  The heavily processed foods were far from good.  To call them food seems to be stretching the definition of the word to its outermost limits.And I am paying the price of my gluttony.  

If you are reading this post and wondering what the hell my point is....I don't blame you.  My body is using all of its energy trying to figure out how to digest all that I have inhaled in the last two days.  So the purpose of this blog is to remind myself...that I don't do well on sugar, white flour and all of the mystery chemicals that lurk within processed foods. 

In order to honor my temple...I will acknowledge that I  actually hear what it is trying to tell me.  I will treat it with more love and kindness.  Tomorrow I will start the day off with a smoothie.  And I will do my very best to say no to potato chips.  I will not guarantee that I will be able to avoid the two cherry pies on the counter.  Hmmm, that makes me wonder....how would they be in a breakfast smoothie?  I mean really, I put fruit in the smoothie...what can a few cherries hurt?

I wish you a day as beautiful as you!

Much Love,

Lisa

Ps:  Today I am grateful for my weekend with my beautiful family.  And for the work and the effort that my Mom put into creating all of those delicious foods.  

Are You Rocking a Ritual? Or Has Your Ritual Sunk Like A Swimming Rock?

Lately I have been feeling like I have gotten away from my morning rituals.  This didn't happen overnight.  Although it does seem like I had a ritual one morning and it was gone the next.

It is in the morning when I most feel connected to God, to my Higher Self, the Universal Energy.  I had a really good streak where I would start every morning grateful for all the blessings in my life.  Before I jumped out of bed I would spend a few minutes basking in the love and energy that fuels my life.  Once I was out of bed I would spend time reading positive affirmations.  Next I would write about those affirmations at www.750words.com  I would write about whatever thoughts came to mind surrounding those affirmations.  The 750 words exercise turned into a meditation where the words would flow more from my heart and soul than from my brain.  Then miraculously a blog post idea would appear.   Once my blog was posted and published I would move on to planning my day.  I would enter this space feeling calm, centered, balanced and optimistic about what the day could and would hold for me.

And then one day..I got busy.  Too busy to write 750 words.  So I skipped that step and stumbled straight into blogging.  And the next day (or maybe the day after that) I found that I was too busy to blog.  And then I was too busy to read affirmations and meditate on them.

And the next thing I knew...I was feeling scattered, disconnected, and unproductive.  My focus was bouncing from one idea to the next. I was looking for something to focus me and ground me. And....

 32 days ago I heard about a book.  Making Miracles by Melody Beattie.  And Mai Vu (my soon to be coach) invited me to join her group - 40/40 Miracles.  And I started doing a daily writing exercise.  30 days ago I started exchanging it daily with my partner.  This is something that I make a priority in my life.  Regardless if I am at home, what day of the week it is...it gets done.  No excuses.

Now I am noticing that I am ready to build my morning rituals around this exercise.  I count my blessings in the morning before that I get out of bed.  I work on my miracle exercise.  I comment on my partner's progress.  And twice this week I have signed into 750 words.  I have even posted eleven blog posts in the last eleven days.  I am ready to return to blogging in the am.  I feel better this way.

One day recently ( in the last 10 days I am sure) I was talking to my Blog BFF and she reminded me that spiritual practice is called practice for a reason.  It is something that we need to practice.  And when I think about that...it is exactly that.  It is always there for us to come back to.  We can grow and evolve and it is always there.  It changes when we need it to.  It grows along with us when we need it to.  It welcomes us back like an old friend with open, loving arms when we return to it.

So if you have stepped away from your spiritual practice.  Or your rituals. Or your routines. Or whatever you would like to call them...please do not judge yourself harshly.  Do not blame yourself or make excuses.  Just welcome yourself back to that space with big, open and loving arms.  You are right where you need to be.  Exactly as you are.

I wish you a day as beautiful as you!

Much Love,

Lisa

The Blogging Challenge So Far

We are 11 days into this challenge with 20 days remaining.  I can honestly tell you I had great ideas for today. And they were swept away by the momentum and excitement on the day.  I do apologize and ask for your patience.  I will post early tomorrow. ...and it will be a good one.

Much love,
Lisa
Today, I am grateful for all of the energy and enthusiasm in my life.

The Beauty of Simplicity

Today I was talking with a client and she is undertaking some serious changes in her life right now.  Her job position changed and four days later she decided to quit smoking.  COLD TURKEY. 

I don't know if you have ever tried to quit smoking...but it is not an easy feat.  It is hugely challenging and the cravings don't go away overnight.  In fact I have talked to people who have been quit for 25 years and still have the occasional craving. 

My client was talking about how she feels that her worst time of day is in the car on her way to work and in the car on the way home.  The morning craving seems to be something that is getting easier as the days go by.  The drive home is something that isn't easy for her.  She craves the cigarette as a means to decompress after a long and challenging day.  This has been a habit for the past two years. 

Tonight on our call she shared with me a huge win.  She found that today was much easier.  Her solution was beautifully simple.  She chose to appreciate the view along her drive.  She took in the beauty of the fall leaves lining the river valley.  She loved all of the colors. 

This is something that we need to remember.  A tool to keep in our back pocket.  Some place nice and handy.  To use any time that we are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and disconnected. 

Where can you look to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings? Is it in the sky in the formation of the clouds? A sunrise? A sunset? The moon?  Wildlife? Flowers? Body of Water?  The sun glistening on the snow? At a kid? The elderly? Within yourself?

Regardless of where you are seeing the beauty....be sure to stop and appreciate it. 

I wish you a day as beautiful as you,

Much Love,

Lisa

Today I am grateful for the beautiful colors that symbolize the change of the seasons!

Permission!

Today's blog is about permission.  I know that when I was a teenager I could not wait for the day to come that I no longer had to ask someone for permission.  Little did I know that I would find myself asking for permission long after my teens.  Unless thirtythirteen is in the teens somewhere and no one told me about it. 

When I was working for someone else....I would have to ask for permission to take time off, to start a new initiative, to have a long lunch and a hundred different reasons.  Unless of course I was living by the fact it is easier to beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission...and although that has its purpose....it is not the best action plan for every scenario. 

Every time I think of asking for permission I am reminded of my nephew.  I am going to say that my nephew was four years old.  And we were all sitting around and waiting to go to the family gathering.  My nephew really wanted to play in his little pool.  So he asked our aunt Kate if he could play in his pool.  Kate told him "Go ask your Mom."  So he toddled into the house to speak with his mom,  He came out and crawled into his pool.  Moments later...his mom came outside very upset to see him in the pool.  When my aunt asked him why he was in the pool he answered very matter of factly...."I did ask her.  You didn't say that she had to say yes."  Touche.  Well played.  It also reminds me to try and cover all of the bases and be crystal clear on my requests.

Back to the topic of permission.  Today I gave myself permission.  Permission to celebrate my success.  I lost 6 lbs and 9.25 inches in September.  I gave my permission to eat the donut my husband drove an hour and a half out of the way to get me.  I gave myself permission to swill wine and eat cheese and crackers and spicy Italian meats.  I lived on the edge Baby.  Oh Ya I Did!  I gave myself permission to rebel.  To acknowledge all that I went without in order to see such great results.  To give myself permission to start back to eating clean tomorrow. 

I have also noticed that in the last few days people are asking me for permission.  Permission for them to honor themselves and care from themselves.  Now when people ask me for permission I do not see myself as I person with a magic wand.  I simply try to mirror back to them what they are looking for but they just aren't quite ready to give it to themselves.

For example:  One client decided that she was going to quit smoking.  What a healthy choice!  So proud of her.  At the same time she also decided that she was going to clean up her eating.  I gave her permission to take on those changes one at a time.  First make some gains not smoking....then make small leaps regarding healthy eating. 

Another client was feeling overwhelmed.  She had so many things on the go that she was spinning in circles and just wanted to take a break.  I can totally relate. So I gave her permission to just stop, hit pause.  Take a time out. And when she was ready to return, create an action plan.  To work on what she absolutely had to work on. And permission to put some things on the back burner.

In both of these situations....they felt lighter.  And that is a win in my books.

So what about you?  What is it that you need permission to do?  I would love to hear it. 

I wish you a day as beautiful as you. 

Much Love,
Lisa